INEC promises credible polls in Ekiti, Osun

The Independent Electoral
Commission, INEC, has pledged
to conduct credible elections in
Ekiti and Osun in 2018.
Adedeji Soyebi, the INEC
National Commissioner for
South West Zone, made the
pledge while speaking with
journalists on Wednesday at the
Zonal Strategic Plan Retreat for
field officers of the commission
in Ibadan.
Mr. Soyebi said the previous
polls had been successful,
adding that “any election
conducted this year or other
time will not be an exception.”
“It will based on the principle
we have used in conducting
elections.
“INEC will build on its various
achievements in the conduct of
free, fair and credible elections
and make sure that there is
tremendous improvement in the
future elections,” Mr. Soyebi
said.
The commissioner said the
Zonal Strategic Plan was aimed
at generating ideas and inputs
from electoral officers on the
field before embarking on any
national plan in readiness for
the 2019 elections.
“At the end of the retreat, a
synthetic report will be ready
which the commission will
present at a national
stakeholders meeting involving
political parties, civil society
organisations, security
apparatus and other
stakeholders in the conduct of
elections,’’ he said
Mr. Soyebi urged the
participants to make
meaningful contributions that
would play vital roles in
assisting the commission to be
more effective.
Earlier in his address of welcome, Ariyo
Ayoola, the Acting Administrative Secretary
of INEC in Oyo State, said the commission
would develop a new strategic plan.
According to Mr. Ayoola, the plan is
expected to lead the nation to another
successful general election in 2019.
He commended the commission for taking
the retreat to the states to elicit local
content, noting that the move was an
attempt at ensuring collective ownership of
the final copy of the strategic plan.
Mr. Ariyo, who said the shared experiences
of the participants would enrich the
outcome of the 2017-2021 strategic Plan,
urged participants to make rich inputs.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that
participants were drawn from staff of INEC
in all the South West states.